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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - City Council - 09/08/2003CITY COUNCIL 8 SEPTEMBER 2003 The South Burlington City Council held a regular meeting on Monday, 8 September 2003 at 7:30 p.m., in the Conference Room, City Hall, 575 Dorset St. Members present: J. Condos, Chair; C. Smith, T. Sheahan, S. Magowan, D. O'Rourke Also present: C. Hafter, City Manager; D. Gravelin, Assistant City Manager; J. B. Hoover, Director of Planning & Zoning; B. Chattman, Superintendent of Schools; Rep. A. Audette, A. Johnston, The Other Paper; R. T. LeBlanc, Assessor; Channel 17; J. Canning, S. Deacon 1. Comments & questions from the audience not related to agenda items: Mr. Canning, representing Winding Brook Condominiums, expressed concern with the Kennedy Drive widening project. He said residents are worried about post-construction noise from traffic and about stormwater runoff. Residents were told that noise studies were taken at the wrong place, and there will actually be a 50% increase in traffic noise when the project is completed. There is also a question of the location of the recharge point for stormwater. Residents feel it should be at the lowest point on the Winding Brook property where the system has been functioning for many years. Mr. Condos said the stormwater permit has been issued and was not appealed. He felt care was taken not to let water get into the neighborhood. Mr. Canning said the concern is with the water table and the potential for cracking of foundations which is not addressed in the permit process. Mr. Hafter said he would be willing to meet with residents to work this out. Mr. Condos noted that the road widening will occur on the opposite side from Winding Brook because of the bike path. He also noted that there were public hearings at the City Council and nobody attended. Mr. Condos also commented that South Burlington is the leading community in the state regarding addressing of stormwater issues. Mr. Canning said he felt city tax money is money well spent. 2. Announcements and City Manager's report: Mr. Smith: the regional technical academy activity is moving quickly again. There will be a region-wide vote next March to establish the school district. This will be a commingled vote. Then there will be a second vote in November regarding financing. Each community in the district will have a representative on the technical academy board. Mr. Condos asked Supt. Chattman whether that board member should be a current school board member or should be separately elected. Supt. Chattman said the superintendents feel there should be elected representation. He added that this would be a good topic for discussion at the Steering Committee. Mr. O'Rourke: The Stormwater Advisory Committee will meet on 16 September, 10 a.m. Mr. Condos: The BCA will meet on 11 September, 6:30 p.m. followed by a meeting of the Board of Abatement. The meeting will be at the Public Works Building. The City will honor Fred Blais, Bill Burgess, Bill Cimonetti, and Mary-Barbara Maher for their long service to the Community on 15 September, 6:30 p.m., at City Hall. Each of the honorees served for over 20 years. Mr. Hafter: On 11 September the Fire Department will have a commemoration ceremony at Overlook Park. The flagpole at the park will be rededicated tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. The Steering Committee will meet on 25 September, 7:30 p.m. Mr. Hafter gave members copies of the agenda. At the VLCT Town Fair on 2 October retired City Clerk Peg Picard will be presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award. A conference will be held on 25 September for elected officials and stakeholders including GBIC, Regional Planning Commission, Regional Chamber of Commerce, and elected officials, 8-9:45. The presentation of the grant application for the Odell condominiums will take place in Montpelier on 10 September. 3. Discussion of proposal for city/school land swap: Supt. Chattman said this item is on the Steering Committee agenda for the 25th. He then reviewed the history of the proposal. In 1995, the school district got a bond to add capacity to the elementary schools. Enrollment is still going up (40 more students this year). There is a need to plan for expansion. The original proposal was for $21,000,000. Because of the high dollar amount, the bond was cut back so that only the elementary schools were included and only repairs were done. Now it is time to address expansion issues. The proposal is to exchange property at 400 Dorset Street for property the school district owns which would allow access through to Market St. Each property is about ¼ acre. The school would then construct administrative space, and the existing administrative space would be retrofitted for additional classroom space. Because of impact fees, work could be done without going to the voters for funding. The goal is to move into the administrative building early next year so retrofitting can be done over the summer. It is anticipated that the new classrooms will accommodate an additional 150 students. Supt. Chattman said it is anticipated that number will level off by 2012. Mr. Hafter explained the process for the proposed land swap. Further discussion and engineering details will be presented at the Steering Committee. 4. Discussion of city-wide reappraisal, necessity and options: Mr. LeBlanc noted that if the CLA drops below 80%, a community has to reappraise. South Burlington is now at 82.59%, and Mr. LeBlanc said reappraisal should begin next year. He noted that he talked with appraisers and nobody can do this for 3 or 4 years. The State would be OK with this as long as there is a plan in place. Mr. Hafter said that commercial property has appreciated more than residential, so he didn't see a need to inspect each home inside and out. Mr. Hafter also said the Council has to reaffirm its traditional stand that any reappraisal would be revenue neutral. Members said that is a "given." Mr. Hafter said he felt the city should go to bid for an "exterior appraisal." Members agreed. Information will be gotten out to the public. 5. Consideration of amended grand list; errors and omissions: Mr. Hafter said there are about 2 dozen errors, mostly addresses and values. There have to be fixed. Mr. Magowan moved to authorize changes to the Grand List to correct errors and omissions, and to authorize the City Council Chair to sign the amended Grand List. Mr. Smith seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 6. Consideration of appointment of Chairman Condos as voting delegate to NLC Conference and Mr. Hafter as alternate voting delegate: Mr. O'Rourke moved to appoint Mr. Condos as voting delegate to NLC Conference and Mr. Hafter as alternate. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 7. Review minutes of 18 August 2003: Mr. Sheahan moved to approve the minutes of 18 August as written. Mr. Magowan seconded. Motion passed 4-0 with Mr. Smith abstaining. 8. Sign Disbursement Orders: Disbursement Orders were signed. 9. Executive Session: Mr. Magowan moved the Council adjourn and reconvene in Executive Session to discuss real property acquisition, litigation and a personnel issue and to resume regular session only to take possible action on the personnel issue and/or adjourn. Mr. Sheahan seconded. Motion passed unanimously. 10. Regular Session: The Council returned to regular session. Mr. Magowan moved adjournment. Mr. Sheahan seconded. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Clerk Published by ClerkBase ©2019 by Clerkbase. No Claim to Original Government Works.